Retaining wall structures that use horizontally positioned soil inclusions to reinforce an earth mass in combination with a facing element are referred to as Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) structures. MSE structures can be used for various applications including retaining walls, bridge abutments, dams, seawalls, and dikes. Basic MSE technology involves a repetitive process by which layers of backfill and several horizontally placed soil reinforcing elements are sequentially positioned one atop the other until a desired height of the earthen structure is achieved.
Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a typical soil reinforcing element 100 that can be used in the construction of an MSE structure. The soil reinforcing element 100 generally includes a welded wire grid having a pair of longitudinal wires 102 that are disposed substantially parallel to each other. The longitudinal wires 102 are joined to a plurality of transverse wires 104 in a generally perpendicular fashion by welds or other attachment means at their intersections, thus forming the welded wire grid. In some applications, there may be more that two longitudinal wires 102. The longitudinal wires 102 may have lead ends 106 that generally converge toward one another, as illustrated, and terminate at a wall end 108. In other applications, however, the lead ends 106 do not converge, but instead terminate substantially parallel to one another. Backfill material and a plurality of soil reinforcing elements 100 are then combined and compacted sequentially to form a solid earthen structure taking the form of a standing earthen wall.
The wall end 108 of each soil reinforcing element 100 may include several different connective means adapted to connect the soil reinforcing element 100 to a substantially vertical facing 110, such as a wire facing, or concrete or steel facings constructed a short distance from the standing earthen wall. Once appropriately secured to the vertical facing 110 and compacted within the backfill, the soil reinforcing element 100 provides tensile strength to the vertical facing 110 that significantly reduces any outward movement and shifting thereof.
The longitudinal wires 102 of the soil reinforcing element 100 may extend several feet into the backfill before terminating at corresponding reinforcing ends 112. Where added amounts of tensile resistance are required, longer soil reinforcing elements 100 are required, thereby disposing the reinforcing ends 112 even deeper into the backfill. Single soil reinforcing elements 100, however, often cannot be manufactured to the lengths required to adequately reinforce the vertical facing 110, nor could such soil reinforcing elements 100 of extended lengths be safely or feasibly transported to job sites.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method of splicing a soil reinforcing element to extend its length.